Sea-Eye: 400 people rescued in Malta's search-and-rescue zone

Over 400 people were rescued in Malta's search-and-rescue (SAR) by Sea-Eye and Mission Lifeline on Thursday.

AlarmPhone was first to report the maritime emergency on Wednesday morning after receiving a distress call. In a statement, the hotline support group said it kept informing the Maltese Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) of new coordinates and requested coordination of the rescue.

According to AlarmPhone, the Maltese RCC did not respond to assistance calls.

The ships Sea-Eye 4 and Rise Above were six hours away from the accident, but proceeded to the coordinates as no other help was to be expected. 

There were already 397 people on board the ships, having been rescued across six different joint operations. 

The Rise Above was the first to reach the two-level wooden boat on Wednesday morning. When it arrived, water was entering the boat due to a leak. Several people were rescued directly from the sea, as they were in the water without life jackets.

Shortly after, the Sea-Eye 4 arrived. The crew aboard the rescue boats distributed life jackets to the distressed. They tried to calm them down and managed to stabilise the situation. The latter was crucial, as the wooden boat could have easily capsized if unrest or panic arises. 

People in need of urgent medical care were first evacuated to the Sea-Eye 4. One person was successfully resuscitated while still on the lifeboat on the way to the Sea-Eye 4.

The wooden boat was fully evacuated by midnight.

Over 800 people are now on the Sea-Eye 4, which has since made its way to Lampedusa.  However, the rescue ship now depends on the rapid assignment of a port of safety. 

Sea-Eye have asked the rescue coordination center in Rome for the assignment of a safe port, and the German Foreign Office for urgent assistance. According to the rescue group, Malta still refuses any communication.

Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye, said it was shameful for Malta to shirk responsibility and ignore distress calls. "Any delay by the authorities endangers the health and lives of the rescued people and our crew," he said. 

"The behaviour of the European authorities has almost criminal features," said Axel Steier, board member and spokesman of Mission Lifeline. "The responsibilities are unambiguous and clearly regulated. Why the states do not adhere to it and knowingly abandon people in distress at sea can only be related to a lack of pressure of prosecution via the International Criminal Court."

Christine Winkelmann, chairman of German Doctors, said the situation on the ground is dramatic. "The rescue crews are reaching the edge of their capacities, which are no longer sufficient. We need help so that all people who are in distress at sea right now can be rescued. After all, this is our common moral responsibility."